A Few Links: Pens, Inks, Plus A Singing Cat

Thursday is my slump day so a break from the usual was in order. Do enjoy today’s mishmash of links especially the ten-second cat video. Hard not to smile at that one.

• LuxiPens: 18 Famous Authors and Their Fountain Pens
• Warning: Android Malware Can Empty Your PayPal Account
• Montegrappa Configuratore
• 125 Essential Movies, According to Martin Scorsese
• Rants of the Archer: Fountain Pen Review: 2018 Special Edition Lamy Safari All Black (Love my stealth Lamy!)
• Nibs.com: Pilot Iroshizuku Seven Gods Limited Editions
• The Little Free Library (One popped up recently less than a block from us. Are you game for opening one in your neighborhood?)
• Just desserts, comeuppance, or something else? Regardless, the video is very satisfying to watch.
• Forbes: Graf von Faber-Castell announces its Pen of the Year

おはようございます🌤

幸せならミャ〜♪😽💗😊https://t.co/yLZBxQquJC pic.twitter.com/NG0Ef2REr6

— 25mom-snsn (土日お休みします) (@tomarigi25) January 6, 2019

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Lazy Day Links: Inks, A Doxie, And Seeing Red

Recovering from a night of revelry? Here is some easy fare for a lazy day…

• Jet Pens: Top 6 Fountain Pen Inks for Ordinary Paper
• The Pen Addict: December Sponsor Spotlight plus some remarks on sponsor support
• The Most Stunning Red Buildings Around the World
• Nibs and Flourishes: 2018 Year In Review (Ink with a waterbrush reveals multicolored hues.)
• Nick Stewart: My Top 12 Inks 2018

 

The Return Of Private Reserve Ink

Did you know that Private Reserve Ink has returned with a new website and some old favorite colors? It has been ages since I bought any, but Avacado and Shell Pink will be welcome here come Spring. Arabian Rose, Burgundy Mist, Orange Crush or Gray Flannel might follow soon after.

The price is very reasonable including the six sample packs that are especially useful if you have no experience with this brand. The Ebony group would make a good choice for those who favor dark inks while the Winter sample pack is perfect for those who are fond of blue. The other four are mixed groups that will hit just the right notes for many inkophiles.

If you like highly saturated ink and don’t mind giving it a few extra seconds to dry, Private Reserve could be a worthy addition to your ink collection.

Sunday Reads: Pen Paper, Oysters, And Vandalism

Crazy busy headed into the holidays, but snagged a few choice bits for you…

• Jet Pens: The Best Fountain Pen Paper
• The Well-Appointed Desk: Inkmas Day 10: 3 Oysters Doldam (I would buy it for the name alone.)
• Stay with it to the end. His presence and connection with both the audience and the orchestra are a joy to watch.
• Making Monograph: The Hardcover Journal from Dapper Notes
• Random Acts of Genius Vandalism
• 116 Amazing Facts for People Who Like Amazing Facts

You Deserve Something Special

Several weeks ago, I was wearing a sad face over the passing of Roy Clark, musician extraordinaire, and decided to write some thoughts in a Black n’ Red notebook. Not expecting to jot down more than a sentence or two, I still needed to select an ink and pen.

The aqua Nemosine Singularity with an italic nib caught my eye as did a bottle of Rohrer & Klingner Blu Mare. It wasn’t so much the color as the anticipated performance in the notebook that dictated the pairing. Though something short of genius, it was still a very satisfying minute that extended into several while I filled a page and a half with notes about music, musicians, and the music industry. It did cheer me though aqua ink and an italic nib have been known to produce that effect even on a good day.

And that begs a question. Is there an ink and pen duo that can bring you out of a funk? Perhaps that is what a pen gives back for the care we take of it. We give it a long and healthy life and it gives us a little joy.

What say you? Do any of your pens or inks have such an influence over you? If not, then may I suggest presenting yourself this holiday season with the gift of a fab pen and a bottle of luscious ink. Don’t neglect yourself. You deserve something special just as much as your friends and family do.

 

Holiday Gifts for 2018

Some excellent ideas for holiday gifts…

• 30 Gifts for Writers: The 2018 Writer’s Digest Holiday Gift Guide
• Fountain Pen Love: Gift Ideas For Fountain Pen Users
• The Well-Appointed Desk: Our Holiday Wish List: What we want for the holidays
• The Well-Appointed Desk: Our 2018 Holiday Gift Guide

Midweek Links: Pen, Paper And Ink

The first link about slowing down handwriting speed is good advice though it isn’t always practical. However, this action does improve legibility and suits any writing that others must read. The last link is to an article about one of my favorite journal creators and includes several pages as well as a few of the fountain pens he uses. Enjoy!

• Life Hacker: Improve Your Handwriting by Slowing Down
• Why Havanese dogs should come in pairs. (My Havanese, Macy, approved this video.)
• Cheap Joe’s 2 Minute Art Tips – Noodler’s Ink
• Goldspot Pens: Why the Pilot Custom 823 fountain pen is a quintessential writer’s pen
• Poor thing. Some days it just doesn’t pay to get out of bed.
• This $1.7 Million Motorhome That Will Blow Your Mind
• The art of the travel diary – in pictures

From the archives, my Autumn 2012 rotation: